Hyper T cat losing wt

I am calling the vet at 9, but thought I'd run this past you.

Arthur is my hyperthyroid kitty. He is 10 years old and was diagnosed just about a year ago.

He was on 1/4 tablet of methimizole each day. Then recently, since it is so hard to quarter the pills, with my vets approval, he is now on 1/2 every other day. That has been going on for about 2 weeks. I did it because I thought he was not getting the correct dose on a 1/4 pill since they were so hard to break evenly.

But he just keeps getting thinner. He eats ok, but I know he needs to be seen. I am hoping that it is just his meds and they need to be upped.

A couple years ago, my cat Spacy, a huge tabby boy just dropped a ton of weight very quickly. The vet felt his belly and looked at me and with sadness said that it was a tumor, and it had invaded other organs. Spacy went to the bridge that day.

So, if you can spare some vibes for Arthur, that would be nice. He is white with a black blob on his side, a black tail and a black "cap" on his head. My vet is good about getting us in the same day so I will post as soon as there is news.

Thanks guys, from me and Arthur.

Lots of good coming that this can be corrected with just an adjustment to his meds.

Cotton was Hyper-t and I know the frustration of them eating well and seeming otherwise fine, but still dropping the weight.

Originally Posted by Ms. Freya

Lots of good coming that this can be corrected with just an adjustment to his meds.

Cotton

was Hyper-t and I know the frustration of them eating well and seeming otherwise fine, but still dropping the weight.

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Oh thanks for the encouragement. Just got home from my "noon" appointment. His heart is fine although he was purring so hard, he said it made it difficult to hear, but his pulse is strong and regular. He did not feel any mass in the tummy but did feel some fluid. Ugh. Wasn't counting on hearing that. So he took blood for all the usual tests, including the T4. Gave him a bunch of long acting shots and brought anti inflams home. Long acting cortisone shot.

Arthur was a doll at the doctors. Head butting all of us climbing on top of the carrier. It was so funny ...his ears, nose, around his eyes, and pads on his feet all got real red. I have had that happen before with the light colored cats. But it started to fade as he got more relaxed. Now they are just white again!

So he spoke of draining some fluid off, but the timing today was not right. He had emergencies and was way behind. So, we will look into that when we get the bloods back. Brought home a couple of kinds of different food too.

He wants me to isolate him to see if he is the one vomiting. Well, I have mixed feelings here. I think it would stress him, he loves his buddies and they all cuddle up together all the time. I am within earshot of them, so I think I will be listening for the sounds of cat vomiting. At this point in his life, I think the quality is so important....over the quantity. They are all best buds in their "apartment". I don't want to look back and think I took him away from that even for a few days.

Well thanks for reading....I am overwhelmed right now and tears are ready to fall at any moment. But, my son is dropping by, so I will wait till later.

Thanks again.

Oh hon, sorry Arthur is not doing well... Hopefully the fluids is nothing, and the meds just need to be upd a little...
Gracie is on 3 pills a day, I do believe she is way overmedicated, and since I do not trust the vet she was going to before, I am going to take her to my vet soon for another T4.
She gained a fair amount of weight since she got here, but she really needed it, she was skin and bones when I got her on Nov 01, and now she looks great...
If Arthur is still losing weight, probably his meds are too low...
All the vibes in the world for your little boy

Tons of for Arthur! Hopefully all he needs is an adjustment to his meds.

Originally Posted by Carolina

Oh hon, sorry Arthur is not doing well... Hopefully the fluids is nothing, and the meds just need to be upd a little...
Gracie is on 3 pills a day, I do believe she is way overmedicated, and since I do not trust the vet she was going to before, I am going to take her to my vet soon for another T4.
She gained a fair amount of weight since she got here, but she really needed it, she was skin and bones when I got her on Nov 01, and now she looks great...
If Arthur is still losing weight, probably his meds are too low...
All the vibes in the world for your little boy

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Yes, Gracie is doing so well, but 3 is a lot. I had another HT cat that took two and he did not do well. I lost him in 08. I hope he takes after your Gracie. He is playing with da bird having a good old time. Time will tell.

Thanks Carolina

Originally Posted by jcat

Tons of for Arthur! Hopefully all he needs is an adjustment to his meds.

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Thanks jcat. I feel like this is the beginning of the end really. Arthur is playing and eating and being happy with his buds. It's just sad to know that down the road things will be changing.

It never gets any easier, but I will give him quality over quantity. That is my decision. I know I'd want it for myself.

Thanks again.

Good luck with the blood results. It sounds like the fluid could be liver related, I had that with my first hyper-t cat, who refused to be medicated, but hopefully if you can get his levels under control, it will cause the fluid to reduce/disappear

!!!!!

If you have a compounding pharmacy in your area, maybe you could have the meds compounded to make them easier to give the right dose daily? Giving the dose every other day will result in Arthur's T4 levels going up and down to a much greater degree--ideally the medicine should be given twice each day as it has a relatively short half-life. Hyperthyroid cats given methimazole/Tapazole twice per day are more likely to have normal thyroid levels than those given it once per day:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12685785

When I worked at a pharmacy that did some compounding, the pharmacists were able to to create cat treats that delivered the appropriate amount of medication. Also, my uncle used the transdermal medication for his hyperthyroid cat (it's a gel that rubs into the ears). Sometimes the transdermal medicine helps cats that have gastrointestinal side effects from the medicine, like vomiting. I was lucky that my Spot was very good about taking his medication. I would put the pill fractions into a small gel cap to make it easy for him to swallow it without tasting the medicine.

I hope you find the best course of action for your kitty so that he can enjoy a long, happy life with you.

Originally Posted by cloud_shade

If you have a compounding pharmacy in your area, maybe you could have the meds compounded to make them easier to give the right dose daily? Giving the dose every other day will result in Arthur's T4 levels going up and down to a much greater degree--ideally the medicine should be given twice each day as it has a relatively short half-life. Hyperthyroid cats given methimazole/Tapazole twice per day are more likely to have normal thyroid levels than those given it once per day:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12685785

When I worked at a pharmacy that did some compounding, the pharmacists were able to to create cat treats that delivered the appropriate amount of medication. Also, my uncle used the transdermal medication for his hyperthyroid cat (it's a gel that rubs into the ears). Sometimes the transdermal medicine helps cats that have gastrointestinal side effects from the medicine, like vomiting. I was lucky that my Spot was very good about taking his medication. I would put the pill fractions into a small gel cap to make it easy for him to swallow it without tasting the medicine.

I hope you find the best course of action for your kitty so that he can enjoy a long, happy life with you.

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That was an interesting study. But the results just came in and his numbers are good. sigh. I wish almost there had been something out of wack. I tell you, not knowing is worse than knowing. Luckily, he takes his pill very well. I put a little butter on it and he gobbles it down.

Will talk to the dr in about an hour to see what the tests tell us and what they dont. UGH.

Thanks for the input.

Did they just test his thyroid, or did they do full bloods?

Yes they did. I started a new thread "Ultrasound". You can read about his appointment.

Things are looking better. Thanks for the support. Best wishes to you for your kittieis.